Bills land top wide receiver in Todd McShay's latest NFL mock draft

The initial wave of the 2017 NFL free agency period is over and as hundreds of players have found new homes, the landscape of the upcoming draft has changed with various positional needs being filled.

The Buffalo Bills entered the offseason sitting near the bottom of the league in terms of available salary cap space but still managed to sign a handful of players to plug a handful of holes throughout their roster.

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On Wednesday, ESPN’s NFL draft analyst Todd McShay released a new mock draft and his selection for the Bills’ No. 10 overall pick will probably be met without pause from fans.

Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

The departure of Stephon Gilmore makes cornerback a much bigger need for Buffalo, but with Florida’s Teez Tabor running a bad 40 at the combine (4.62) and Washington’s Sidney Jones injuring his left leg at his pro day, there’s less top-end talent at that position than originally expected. Davis has yet to run the 40-yard dash (he’s nursing an ankle injury), but I expect him to be in the 4.4s based on his tape. He also has great size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) and ball skills.

Corey Davis is widely viewed as the top wide receiver prospect in the 2017 NFL draft despite sitting out from drills at the Scouting Combine with a foot injury. Davis has been one of the most productive offensive players in the nation over the last three years and finished the 2016 season wth 97 receptions for 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s recorded at least 1,400 receiving yards in each of the last three seasons.

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Davis has a well-rounded skill set, possessing great speed and route running ability while showing the ability to regularly create big chunks of yards-after-catch. His big frame allows him to be a threat in the red zone as well, as Davis uses his body to box out defenders, elevate and pluck the ball out of the air at it’s highest point.

Buffalo needs to add weapons to boost their passing attack that ranked No. 30 in the NFL last year, averaging 189.9 yards-per-game through the air. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is a dominant player when healthy, but after losing Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin to free agency, the roster is filled with question marks in Corey ‘Philly’ Brown, Jeremy Butler, Dez Lewis, Kolby Listenbee and Walt Powell.

Davis has elite traits and would provide quarterback Tyrod Taylor with a big, athletic target that can run a full route tree and make plays at every level of the field.

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